Friends, family share memories of Mason Brady's life

Friends and family mourn the loss of the 22-year-old who died in a June 14 car crash

Vigil attendees set their candles at the base of the Mustang Tree during a vigil at South Western High School on June 15. (Clare Becker - The Evening Sun)

When Mason Brady talked about his excavation business, he did not boast; he was appreciative and proud to have the opportunity to serve his community, family friend Sara Cain said.

"The deep sense of pride he had for doing so and the look on his face was one I will never forget," Cain said of the 22-year-old's feelings on starting his own business, Mason Brady Excavating.

She remembers Brady as a little-brother figure who enjoyed following her and his sister, Toshia Brodbeck, around when they were younger.

"Losing Mason is losing a sense of normalcy and nothing seems to make sense," Cain said.

Brady died in York Hospital on June 14 from injuries sustained a day earlier when he was thrown from a vehicle in Manheim Township.

Mourners gather near the Mustang Tree at South Western High School on June 15, 2014 to start a vigil honoring Mason Brady. (Clare Becker - The Evening Sun)

He was driving his family's 1989 Ford Ranger on Glenville Road around 10:30 p.m. when he lost control around a curve, police said.

Respected, genuine, humble, talented and trustworthy were words loved ones used to describe him. He was a friend, a brother, a son and a proud member of the South Western family, who played football and served as class president during his time as a mustang.

One of his proudest moments, Brodbeck said, was when he placed the newest Mustang carving near South Western High School with his fork lift last fall.

Roughly 200 people gathered at that same tree June 15 to mourn his death with a candlelight vigil.

"Mason Brady may have left this world," Brodbeck said, "but his legacy will always live on at South Western."

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Several friends set up donations and created a Facebook page, "We Remember Mason Brady." Plans are in place for a memorial bench to be built at the high school and dedicated to Brady.

"He gained the respect of so many people in this community by just being Mason," said Arthur Joseph, Brady's business associate. "We lost a young man who had so much to offer."

Though he served the community through his business, he helped locals in other ways as well.

Brady helped Dan Krueger's dreams come true. Brady let Dan drive his big work trucks and convinced him to finally get a commercial drivers license. Brady and Dan were always talking about their "cool trucks," said Krueger's wife, Karen, and they were both excited when Dan passed his test.

"After talking to Mason for about thirty minutes," she wrote in an email, "it was clear that the kid had the world in his hands."

While on the school board, Brady was the only one to ever come dressed professionally, South Western Superintendent Barb Rupp. His maturity was beyond his years. He did not have an ego, she said, and he was always focused on what he could do for others.

"Mason exemplified the Mustang spirit in every way possible," Rupp said.

Brady's ability to relate to all types of people is what made him successful, respected, and so loved, Brodbeck said.

"We are devastated by this loss," she said on behalf of the family. "But we take faith and comfort by the continuing prayers and messages of support."

His loss will continue to be felt throughout the community, she said.

And especially his alma mater. Brady was among those who helped to hang the words of a well-known saying that was placed at the high school's front entrance: Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang

Donations:

Anyone who would like to honor Mason Brady with a donation is encouraged by the Brady family and South Western High School to send all donations to Dollars for Scholars. If sending a check, make it out to Dollars for Scholars and place "Mason Brady scholarship" in the memo line. The address is South Western High School, 200 Bowman Road, Hanover, Pa. 17331. All monetary donations will go toward a scholarship to be given to a graduating senior in Brady's name. The family may choose the criteria for the scholarship, Rupp said.

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